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On Thursday a customer emailed Sean & I a copy of 8 page list that was complied by Porsche Cars Australia in 2004 of the front engine'd Porsche cars officially imported by Porsche Cars Australia from 1976 to 1995 inclusive

It gives some interesting details on the numbers imported per year model & engine and Vin Prefix and the very interesting bit is the major changes from the previous year model , be it the 924 , 931 , 944 , 944S , 944S2 , 951 , 968 , 928 , 928S , 928S4 , GT , GTS

The above is just a brief list of the one's I found interesting , mainly in relation to how rare some Porsche year models are

Now to some interesting notes printed by Porsche Cars Australia on this list in the far right hand column , concerning the differences as compared to the year model before

The following will interest quite a few people who owns a 928GTS ( 1992 - 1995 ) in relation to the Porsche Club Concourse ( different states ) held each year here in Australia concerning what RADIO / Cassette / CD player that was imported with the car & officially imported by Porsche Cars Australia

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It goes to show that rarity doesn't always dictate a high value.....the air cooled 911s are plentiful in comparison but the values are well north of some of these very rare water cooled cars. Perhaps it's because the air cooled ones don't use water which is a limited resource and this is seen as being more environmentally conscious. 😋

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It goes to show that rarity doesn't always dictate a high value.....the air cooled 911s are plentiful in comparison but the values are well north of some of these very rare water cooled cars. Perhaps it's because the air cooled ones don't use water which is a limited resource and this is seen as being more environmentally conscious. 😋

I think its more to do with the lack of knowledge on just how rare some of the Australian delivered ( new ) last century front engine d Porsche cars are , I have been working on Porsche cars for some 42 years & even I had no real idea just how rare some of these cars were , for example the one ( 1 ) 1987 ( H) year model 944 2.5 NA or even my 1993 year model 968 coupe ( 6 ) imported and sold new in Australia , I had no idea that the numbers were so low , I knew that the 1991 944S2 was rare , so much so I was surprised that there was 6 of them imported officially , I have only seen ( 1 ) and that was when it was new on the showroom floor back at SVM & never ever seen or head of another Australian delivered 1991 944S2 since

The 1991 ( M) 944S2 Cabrio , two ( 2 ) were imported officially or even the 1987 ( H ) 944S , same thing , only ( 2 ) officially imported , I knew there were some imported , we even sold a new 1987 944S ( in 1987 ) , but I never thought there was just 2 of them for the whole of Australia

It reminds me ( in some respects ) in 1989 , we ( SVM / Porsche dealership I worked at ) sold 2 ( at least ) x 911 speedsters narrow body ( 3.2 speedster narrow body ) , at the time we just thought these must be as common as anything , but later I leaned just how rare a 1989 R/H/D 3.2 speedster was in narrow body & yes we ( SVM ) sold a few more wide body speedsters ( they were more expensive naturally )

Once more people find out the rarity ( just takes time ) I think people will realize

Rare beasts indeed. Is there some type of registry? I know a couple of members here have some, are they part of this original set?

Crazy when you think that even a highly expensive car like a gt3rs or similar probably outsells what the 928 did back in the day. I mean a 928 GTS was a very expensive thing in the early 90s.

I just added the 1994 & 1995 year models 928GTS numbers imported , there seems to be interest in this section

You have to remember some very important factors , " Massive Interest Rates " was the important one from 1991 to about 1994 / 1995 interest rates on everything , be it a mortgage ( 18.25%+ ) or worst still a lease package on a car ( 29% + ) was out of control & that's why car companies selling expensive cars in that era ( be it here or UK or Europe or USA ) the sales were getting lower and lower , there were few customers who could afford the massive interest rates on the car lease packages , with the sales slipping badly ( no fault of the car companies ) car dealerships had to change brands to stay afloat , like here in Sydney , John Newell Porsche ( Sydney ) handed back their Porsche dealership license / agreement and went off to sell Mazda to stay afloat , I would of done the same , Porsche Cars Australia had to change owners , things were that bad

Also fully imported European cars then ( 1970's , 1980's , 1990's ) were all way over taxed and over priced here in Australia and made worse for Porsche by the overheads of low volume manufacturing in that era & only making sports cars , When things went financially bad for Porsche in 1995 , among other restructuring they recognized that higher volumes were the key to financial stability in the future , enter the Cayenne & the Macan for this century , volume / increased sales numbers is everything

As a side note , I just pulled out of my archive of the officail price lists ( printed by Porsche Cars Australia ) for the 1987 year model

Price Guide is Dated April 1987 ( 32 years ago ) , here are some prices from the price guide }

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So a 928S4 with options was $220k+ in 1987.....holy crap, what was a commodore back then, $15k? Wow........combine that price with massive interest rates and it's no wonder sales faltered.

928 GTS manual is a rare bird, 4 in total, 1 imported each year from '92 to '95 (cf nearly 60 autos in the same period). If you have one of those, hang onto it until this news becomes well known! That must be one of the rarest P cars of all? Good luck finding a clutch kit at your local Repco 🤔

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On Thursday a customer emailed Sean & I a copy of 8 page list that was complied by Porsche Cars Australia in 2004 of the front engine'd Porsche cars officially imported by Porsche Cars Australia from 1976 to 1995 inclusive

It gives some interesting details on the numbers imported per year model & engine and Vin Prefix and the very interesting bit is the major changes from the previous year model , be it the 924 , 931 , 944 , 944S , 944S2 , 951 , 968 , 928 , 928S , 928S4 , GT , GTS

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The real estate prices are directly related to the historically low interest rates right now. One day it will all end in tears, but not any day soon I suspect.

Oh to be a debt free off grid hermit with a gold mine in the backyard...

As for the 944 - it's surprising they sold as many as they did given it was developed as a budget sports car for other parts of the world. In the US during the mid 80s there were a ~$30k car. Tough sell at over $100k for something slower than much of the competition.

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Interestingly , in Australia in 1982 ( the first model 944 ) they were around $ 42,000 or $43,000 ( with no options ) , but remember these early 944 models came with NO A/C , no power steering , no power seats , early 924 interior etc etc , very different car the 944 became from model year 1986 on wards & the price went up from 1986 because of the more standard options , even the cars frame / floor was different from 1986

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The real estate prices are directly related to the historically low interest rates right now. One day it will all end in tears, but not any day soon I suspect.

Oh to be a debt free off grid hermit with a gold mine in the backyard...

As for the 944 - it's surprising they sold as many as they did given it was developed as a budget sports car for other parts of the world. In the US during the mid 80s there were a ~$30k car. Tough sell at over $100k for something slower than much of the competition.

Maybe for the North Island, but Tassie never follows the "trends" when it comes to Real estate. Our prices were ridiculously low for decades and then all of a sudden caught up (about 2005 +/-) and have continued to climb ever since, it is clearly a sellers market here right now, seriously tempted to sell and build again.....

USA 718 Cayman in the $50s, in Aus over $120.... not much has changed......

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Interestingly , in Australia in 1982 ( the first model 944 ) they were around $ 42,000 or $43,000 ( with no options ) , but remember these early 944 models came with NO A/C , no power steering , no power seats , early 924 interior etc etc , very different car the 944 became from model year 1986 on wards & the price went up from 1986 because of the more standard options , even the cars frame / floor was different from 1986

On12 December 1983, the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating floated the dollar, with the exchange rate reflecting the balance of payments and other market drivers.

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Hmmm - I remember living in UK in early '70s when the Aussie $ was equal value to the UK Pound, briefly. I was young & stupid and actually bought money back to Australia; that money was lost when we had to pay 18% on our home loan!!!!

It was also when my mate bought his new 911RS from Hamiltons on Tourist Delivery & picked it up from the Factory. Happy days as he charged through the low-countries like the Wehrmacht in 1940 - being chased by lesser Police vehicles as he "ran the borders" to get to safe haven in UK. Money wise, he wasnt stupid like me.

Edit: Back in Melbourne he bought a 944 to run around in (instead of the 911 RS). So now I realise that he must have been wealthier than I thought, or maybe he just leased the 944.